


I Would Follow You Anywhere

by theauthor2010



Category: Glee
Genre: Community: glee_angst_meme, M/M, Mpreg, Romance, Science Fiction, Teenage Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-04
Updated: 2011-06-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 23:09:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This wasn't something Puck or Finn could have ever prepared for. It didn't matter that they had both endured the same thing the previous year. This was theirs.</p><p>MPREG warning. Yes, it still kind of squicks me too but I wanted to write this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am not that comfortable with writing mpreg but I wanted this prompt at the angst meme so there.

"I swear to God Almighty that if you don't get rid of that thing then you are no longer welcome in my house. No son of mine is going to be a pregnant freak of nature. I didn't raise you to be a fag, Noah. You and that abomination are going to rot in hell and I won't be an enabler! I will not enable you!”

Every single eye in the room landed on Puck. The young man stared at his mother in shock and horror. The tiny frazzled Jewish woman seethed in front of them, screaming out every word at the top of her lungs, her face bright red. Everyone, even those who denied doing it, looked down at the boy to see signs of the pregnancy being screamed about. Puck sunk down further and further into his chair, eyes suddenly averted.

"I'm not getting rid of it," he mumbled low but in a way where everyone could hear him clearly. "I'm sorry, Ma. I can't do that after losin' Beth. I'm sorry. I won’t get rid of it. I won’t get rid of it so you can just kick me out.”

This enraged the woman further. She took a quick step forward and slapped her son across the face. The collective gasp was strong and several of the glee club members shot to their feet to run to their friend’s defense. "Never, ever again! You can take your faggot-demon-baby and find somewhere else to live. I don’t want to see your face again.”

She stormed off, leaving the glee club and Mr. Schuester staring blankly at Puck. The young man lashed out as viciously as he could manage, standing up. "Surprise," he said darkly. "I'm pregnant with a freak of nature baby." His eyes locked with Finn’s before he got up and left the choir room, walking swiftly in the opposite direction of his mother.

"Puck..." Finn said softly, standing up.

Tina, who had been one of the few to move to Puck’s side, stammered out a calm and logical assessment, which was pretty much stating the obvious but, at the same time, comforted the confused group of teenagers. "Obviously Puck's a carrier of the Gaia Gene and he has been wearing a lot of weird baggy sweatshirts lately. He must be pregnant. I…who’s the other father?”

"Two guesses," Santana said casually, just as Finn ran out of the room after Puck.

"He wouldn't!" Rachel yelled indignantly. "I mean since Quinn dumped him Finn has been doing stupid things but he wouldn't sleep with Noah and he's not gay. Is he?"

Mr. Schuester, who had been staring at the scene with his mouth half open, finally spoke up. "Alright," he said calling the group to attention. "What Puck's mom did was incredibly inappropriate, not to mention abusive and I'm going to go to him after Finn talks to him, I promise, but let's continue where we left off so that Finn can have a moment to calm him down. We can't get hysterical here and Finn probably knows what to do best.”

Finn followed Puck out of the choir room and straight into a janitor's closet. The other teen was hyperventilating, sitting against the wall with his knees up to his chest. "Puck," Finn said, dropping to his knees by his side. "Are you really pregnant?" he asked. He tried to look the other boy in the eyes but Puck's eyes kept moving and he kept pulling away. Obviously he was pregnant, that was a stupid question. Finn hadn’t even really known about guy pregnancies until Kurt explained it to him over a year ago due to some controversy in the paper. This couldn’t be really happening to him. Puck could not really be pregnant just a few months after their stupid, stupid fling.

"Dude, is it mine?"

That got Puck's attention. The boy's eyes flicked back up towards him and he glared. "I'm not that much of a slut, Finn. You're the only guy I'd ever let..."

"When were you going to tell me?" Finn asked, touching Puck's cheek lightly. It was wet from the tears he'd been crying. He knew this was bad. Puck was crying; Puck cried less than he did and Finn rarely cried at all. Oh god, oh god this was so wrong. This was so wrong but he had to man up and take control because this wasn’t Puck’s fight alone. "It's my baby and I want to help you. I...I...I'm here."

"I was trying to figure out how, Finn. I don't want to saddle you with this but like I told Ma, I just can't get an abortion or give it up. I just can't let go and I don't wanna ruin you. I can't, I won't."

"Did you know you..."

"Could get knocked up?" he asked harshly. "No. I never was tested or anything. I-I had no plans to be fucked you know?"

Finn touched Puck's face. He was absolutely panicking but he knew it had to be worse for Puck. Puck was pregnant with a baby he had no intention of getting rid of and his mom had just humiliated and hit him in front of the whole glee club. He started breathing heavily. "Dude, I'm here ok. This is my kid too and I'm going to be here for you. You're not alone or anything like that, I promise."

"Bullshit," Puck said quietly. "Finn we had sex one night because you were sad and we were horny and messing around. It's not like you love me or anything. You don’t and there's no way we can raise a kid together or anything like that. I don’t ...I won't hold it against you to back off. As far as people know, I dunno the father. It'll be easy to convince them that I did something stupid with an unknown dude; everyone thinks I'm a slut anyway. It was only a matter of time before Puckerman started fucking dudes and all.”

"It...it doesn't matter how you got pregnant or what our motives were for fucking. I...you and me both, we wanted to give Quinn's kid everything, me when I thought she was mine and you in the end for Beth. I...I...do I look like someone who walks away from my mistakes? I’m not going to walk away from this alright. Now c’mon dude, we have to focus on you first. Your mom was so out of line and…”

"I don't want to trap you!"

"Do you really think I'm the kinda dude who sees it as being trapped? You're having my...my..."

"Your baby," he mumbled, self consciously lowering his hand to waist.

“You’re hurt dude; can we focus on that first?” Finn asked desperately, choking several times in his attempt to get his words out.

“I’m not hurt!” he yelled loudly.

“Your mom…”

“Do you think I have some wonderful relationship with my mom?” Puck snapped. “That shit she pulled in the choir room is just an echo of my everyday life. She slaps me around, yells some insults, calls me an insult to her religion. I think having a butt-baby is sort of the last straw but this is my every day. I’m not hurt.”

“Puck.”

He watched as tears filled his best friend’s eyes. It made him want to cry too. Puck sniffled a few times and it took at least ten minutes before he actually started talking. He kept opening his mouth like he was going to but then stopped again.

"They're all going to know it's you," he finally warned, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.. "Your mom is also never going to forgive you for this after the shock you gave her last year. You can't just all casually say: hey Ma, take in my freak of nature best friend. Oh yeah, I knocked him up."

"It's alright Puck," Finn said harshly. "We're going to make this work."

"Everyone will see you differently too. You're not the All American boy who knocked up his sweet cheerleader girlfriend this time. You screwed a dude and still ended up a baby daddy. Even though people know this gene thing exists it's not okay that dudes get pregnant and dudes who get other dudes pregnant are worse. You’re going to be a social outcast if you own up to being the father of this thing.”

Finn groaned, feeling as though he wanted to hit Puck. "Would you shut the hell up?" he snapped. "I'm doing my best. You aren't gonna scare me off, dude. Now let's get outta this closet."

To his surprise, Puck got up. He looked at Finn with the world’s most haunted expression.

“Everyone’s going to want answers,” he whispered weakly. “Schue’s gonna want to talk about my fucked up family life and Tina is going to offer quiet, logical advice. Quinn’s going to freak out about my lack of responsibilities and Rachel is going to start crying because she still thinks there’s a chance for you two and now you’re as queer as her daddies. I can’t go back to all that, not right now.”

“Alright then, we’ll cut through the back. C’mon dude.”

He took Puck’s hand and held it until they managed their way off school property. He didn’t know what he was going to do but Puck was breaking down and needed him more than anything. He had to be strong for Puck. He had to.


	2. Chapter 2

When Finn and Puck arrived at the house, they discovered that it was empty. Finn breathed what was possibly the biggest sigh of relief ever. He wanted to tell his mom, of course, but he was not ready to face her yet, especially since he had already put her through this once before. Oh god, he was possibly the worst son to ever exist. "Nobody's home," he told the other teen, even though it was obvious. He carefully took Puck inside and grabbed his hand as they headed to the bedroom.

He gave Puck a long, lingering look. He could not believe that his best friend was pregnant with his baby. He kept his eyes locked on Puck's abdomen where he could see a slight bump. He had always been a little bit fascinated by the idea of pregnancy, a new life just sitting there inside of someone, waiting for its moment to be born but now it was even more important. He felt the same things he felt when Quinn was pregnant but intensified. This was his baby.

"I know it's surreal," Puck mumbled. "The moment I started showing a little bit, I panicked."

He could not imagine having a baby growing inside of you. Oh god, he was scared. He had convinced himself when Quinn was pregnant that he could be a good father but he was doubtful now. He had no chance. He had absolutely no chance of being anything but a loser, a deadbeat father. "How long have you known about the baby?" Finn asked after a long moment of staring. "I mean h-how did you find out about it. It's not exactly, uh, common for a dude to get pregnant after all."

Puck looked up at him with guilt in his eyes. "I've known for about a month," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I'm...uh...I was just really scared to tell you. I didn't want to have to lay this all on you Finn. I'm four months along right now."

Finn could not believe it. "That doesn't give us much time," he said softly.

"For what?"

"To figure this thing out."

Five months. Finn had five months to sort his life out and make way for a real life child. He was going to have a baby of his own. He was a father and Puck was carrying the baby. He had five months to make it all work.

He was amazed about the whole situation. He had a baby and it was growing inside of his best friend. As scared as he was, he couldn't help marvel about it. "I didn't have a clue about the uh, Gaia thing until I was older you know? I mean, it's not something they talk about in school and all. Kurt gave me all the details last year because it's like a big deal in the gay community."

He started rambling and couldn't stop. He was scared to death. He always did this when he was afraid. He could not breathe and he rambled like crazy.

"It's not something anyone talks about," he said softly. "The only doc I've been able to see says that socially it'll always be a stigma for dudes to have kids."

"It's pretty homophobic," Finn mumbled, remembering just what Kurt had told him.

"I'm scared, dude." Puck spoke soft and slow and Finn could understand his fear. He was pregnant, alone and abandoned by his mother. People hated him for being a pregnant guy and he...wait, had he said he'd only seen one doctor? By the time Quinn was four months she had a ton of appointments!

"Wait, one doctor?" Finn looked at Puck and shook his head from side to side. “Aren’t dude pregnancies like twice as dangerous as girl ones? You’re supposed to see a doctor like every month. I know that from when Quinn was pregnant. She had to see a lot of doctors and it was really expensive and everything. Why have you only seen one doctor?”

“Do you think that I can afford that?” Puck asked with anger evident in his eyes. It wasn’t anger at Finn though and softened after a second. “There aren’t a lot of doctors who will accept pregnant dudes as patients. It’s a specialty and the specialists are really expensive. I can’t afford to go to a doctor. It’s not like I’m not taking care of myself Finn. I’ve read a lot about what to do.”

“What have you read?” he asked softly.

“I’ve read a lot about what to eat and stuff,” Puck mumbled. “I’ve cut out anything that might be bad for the baby and have been taking care to keep from getting sick and stuff. Illnesses could be bad for the baby.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Finn said softly. “We have to see a doctor though.”

“We can’t.”

“We will Puck,” he said. He reached over and pulled the other teenager against his chest.

The next day at school was absolute hell, as far as Finn was concerned. He had known that McKinley was a fantastic rumor mill but news of Puck’s pregnancy literally spread like a wildfire. He had only been on campus for ten minutes when he first heard the words “pregnant slut.” He turned around but the source of those words seemed to be long gone. He headed to his first period class, only to be accosted by Jacob.

“Finn Hudson, is it true that the pregnant sex addict Noah Puckerman is carrying your child?”

He stopped dead in his tracks and then walked to class. “Get the hell out of my face,” he said loudly and walked over to his seat. He felt like his head was literally swimming. Santana was probably to blame for this. She had been very bitter over her relationship with Brittany and was always one to take things out on an innocent victim. Finn didn’t know anyone else in glee club who could spread a rumor before first period even begun.

He didn’t even think again for one second until he got to Spanish that day for third period and Mr. Schuester pulled him aside.

“Finn,” he said softly. “I let you take care of Puck yesterday because I knew that it would be better than going after him, but I need you to tell me what’s going on.”

Finn blinked. He hadn’t really thought about how Mr. Schuester was going to react. He had seen one of his students be hit by his mother and yelled at for being pregnant. Finn was actually surprised he didn’t react anyway, even though Puck had needed Finn. “I-uh,” he mumbled. “I’m not really sure what to say. Puck is pregnant and I’m the father.”

“Oh Finn, I’m sorry…”

The man pulled Finn into a hug and Finn hugged him back. He couldn’t help laugh under his breath though at how ridiculous it was that this was the second time Mr. Schuester had comforted him over the pressures of a teenage pregnancy. He was such an absolute joke. He choked on a sob, even though he had not cried since finding out. “It was so stupid Mr. Schue,” he whispered. “Lauren broke up with him and Quinn broke up with me and we were lonely and it just felt so right…”

“It’ll be okay Finn.”

They stayed like that for a long while. After about five minutes, Mr. Schue let go of him and asked a question that Finn wasn’t expecting. “Finn, what do you know about Puck’s mom? I can’t let the fact that she hit him in front of me go uninvestigated, especially since he’s pregnant now and relying on his family support.”

Finn looked up and then back down as guilt hit him. “I’ve never seen Puck’s mom hit him before,” he whispered, “but she’s always been very mean to him. She calls him a loser and stuff and tells him that he reminds her of his father. Do you think that you can get her in trouble for what she did to him?”

“Noah’s pretty close to eighteen,” the man confided. “I don’t know if there’s much I can do but I’ll do whatever I can, alright Finn? Is Puck staying with you right now?”

He nodded.

“Good,” he said. “If there’s ever…a reason why he can’t, or you can’t be at home, then you both are always welcome at my apartment.”

Finn nodded slowly. He didn’t want to imagine that there would ever be reason for that but who was going to say that his mom would be supportive this time. He had already put her through hell when Quinn was pregnant and that child hadn’t even been his in the end. She was also so happy with her new life and the way it was going. She was so happy with her family that she would probably disown him for ruining it. “I’m terrified,” he said softly, getting up. “I gotta go to class, Mr. Schue.”

Mr. Schuester quietly wrote him a hall pass and he made it through his day. He didn’t feel safe until he could get Puck back home. He got Puck home without his mother’s suspicion but she actually saw them and he couldn’t open his mouth to tell her. He made some lame excuse about homework and then hid in his room. Oh god, he was absolutely the worst son in the world and his mother had every right to just rid herself of him. Why was he so stupid?

He left Puck upstairs and went down quickly to get a drink. He expected a confrontation with his mother but that was not the confrontation he got.

“Kurt.”

His stepbrother glared at him fiercely. “Finn Hudson, what the hell is going on?” Kurt asked, his eyes flashing. “Where’s Puck?”

“He’s upstairs,” Finn said softly.

“Is it yours?” Kurt asked bluntly. He searched Finn’s eyes for a moment and then spoke again. “Oh my god it is yours. It is your baby isn’t it? Oh my god. How could you have slept with Noah Puckerman? Your life is ruined Finn and you’re not even supposed to be gay. How could you sleep with a guy if you’re not even gay and were freaked out by me and everything? You’re not gay are you?”

He didn’t let Finn get a word in edgewise. Finn looked at Kurt and then he just…blew up.

"You don't get to judge me for who I've been with!"

The words came out with a satisfying sting and Finn was glad that his stepbrother wore a wounded, slapped expression on his face. He was so exhausted and Kurt had the audacity to judge him for sleeping with another boy. "You aren't the king of the gays, okay?" he asked, his resolve weakening with the tears he was dying to cry.

"I just don't get it."

Finn opened his mouth to speak when Puck's voice cut in from behind. He had walked downstairs, probably to see what Finn was doing taking so long. "You don't get being lonely, pent up and needy?" he asked. The curve of his stomach was obvious under his t-shirt; Puck probably had stopped hiding it after the day they had. "Maybe sexuality is more black and white for you than you know Kurt, but that doesn't matter."

Kurt's eyes locked on the tell-tale swelling. "No," he said. "It doesn't."

"Leave Finn be Hummel," he said softly. "I already tried my best to get him to walk away but he didn't. He's been more than any teenage guy can be expected to be."

"I'm supportive of you guys," Kurt defended quickly. "I just...I really don't understand how you two could have...been together. I'm sorry it’s just so frustrating."

"It’s more frustrating for us!" Finn yelled. "We're the ones having a baby."


	3. Revealed

It was then that Burt Hummel walked into the room.

Finn turned around and held his breath, praying to God that Burt hadn’t heard what he’d just yelled at his stepbrother. “Burt,” he said softly, looking the man in the eyes. It was then, staring deep into his stepfather’s eyes that Finn knew that yes, he had most definitely heard them. Oh god, his life was over right now, before he had a chance to sort this mess out. He looked to Puck and then to Kurt, terrified.

“Kurt, can you please go up to your room?” Burt told his son. Kurt looked at Finn, shooting him a look of horror and sympathy before nodding and heading upstairs. Burt then turned his gaze to Puck and Finn, beckoning them into the front room. “Boys, I want you both to come here, now.”

They followed Burt into the front room, blindly. Puck sat down on the couch, looking as though he was on the verge of throwing up. Maybe he was. Finn had no idea how pregnancies for dudes were supposed to work. Quinn got sick a lot. H sat down next to Puck, snapping to attention and staring his stepfather in the eye, nerves overwhelming him. “Now, I want you boys to tell me what’s going on right now,” Burt said firmly.

Finn didn’t know what to do. His heart was hurting and he was on the verge of a breakdown. He looked from Burt to Puck and then he started crying. “I’m so sorry, Burt,” he whispered. “Please don’t kick me out. I don’t know what to do. I need help and I can’t…I can’t make it if you kick mom and I out again. I…I didn’t mean for this to happen and I’ll leave if it messes up your life with mom, I promise and I…”

Puck reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Finn took the comfort.

“Tell me, clearly, Finn, what’s going on,” Burt said. “You’re safe here, but I need words Finn, not rambling.”

“Puck’s pregnant,” Finn blurted out. “He and I…we slept together. It was awhile ago and s-stupid and he didn’t know he was carrying that weird gene thing. He had no idea that he could get pregnant and we just…let it happen. Please don’t hate me. Puck got kicked out by his mom and I would…d-die if you guys … please.”

Puck’s hand on his shoulder tightened a little but the other boy remained speechless.

“Nobody is going to kick you out of the house, Finn,” Burt said firmly. “Have you told your mother about this yet?”

“No,” Finn mumbled. “She’s going to hate me, Burt. I already put her through so much when Quinn was pregnant and then all of a sudden the baby wasn’t mine and…it was madness and it hurt her so much.”

Burt stayed quiet for a very long time. Finn could see the thoughts rolling through his head. He was in a lot of pain and upset but he wasn’t angry at Finn at all, really. “Puckerman, get yourself upstairs and into Finn’s room.”

Puck looked at Burt and nodded. “Kay.”

Finn felt a little bit abandoned, sitting in the room alone with Burt. He put his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “I know that you’re scared, but you need to tell your mother about this right now,” he said. “I’ll stay with you, if you want, or you can go it alone, but you need to do it before it gets out of hand.”

They waited for his mother to arrive. When she got there Finn was already crying. He couldn’t believe that he had to tell her this. “Finn, what’s wrong?” she asked, gently.

Finn didn’t know what to do. He looked at his mom, looked at Burt and then decided he needed to go this one alone. He was going to break down with Burt in the room and he couldn’t do that. “Can I…can I talk to my mom alone?” he asked softly and Burt nodded as though he was expecting it. He pulled back and walked into the other room. Finn prayed that he wasn’t going upstairs to talk to Puck because Puck was going to freak. Puck was already in such a horrible, horrible situation.

“Mom,” he whispered softly. “You’re going to hate me. I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t blame you if you kicked me out of the house and totally disowned me. I’m stupid. I don’t learn. I’m not worth any of the pain I bring and…and I’m so sorry…you’re going to hate me forever.”

“That’s not going to happen Finn,” she assured him, crossing her arms over her chest. He wanted to laugh at the confident way she said that, as though there was no way he could be right. She was going to be taking her words back in a matter of minutes once he told her what was going on. “I’m your mother and I’m here for you, but you need to spill it, alright?”

She walked him over to the couch to sit down. She sat him down and got right next to him. He blurted it out, “Mom, Puck is pregnant with my kid.” There was no nice way to say it, no way to beat around the bush with it. It was what it was.

He felt like dying when his mom began to cry. God damn it, he was the biggest burden in the world. She shook her head, as though she didn’t really believe what he was saying to her. She was quiet for a moment, mumbling under her breath, but Finn knew that he caught the words, “please don’t do this to me again,” in all of that mumbling. His heart broke into pieces over and over seeing that misery in his mother. She didn’t deserve this.

“I’m so sorry Mom,” he said, even though that would never begin to cover it. He felt like he had to justify himself but there was no real way to justify the foolishness that he had committed. “I didn’t know that Puck could get pregnant and neither did he. He had never been tested because he had never…had any reason to.”

“His mother should have had him tested like…like any good parent does. When the gene…revealed…oh honey…”

He only caught bits and pieces of his mother’s rambling but it hurt so much. It hurt so much knowing that she was hurting because of him. He had hurt the only woman to ever always be there for him, his mother, who had always supported him. He was reminded of the way Puck’s mother had treated him and the fact that he had a brilliant, wonderful mother.

She paused in her rambling after a moment. “Finn, are you and Puck…involved?” she asked, catching her breath. “I mean, obviously, you were involved but are you two in a relationship? You never even told me that you liked boys Finn.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t know that I was, Mom,” he admitted, calming his quick breathing. “It was just a onetime thing between me and Puck. We were both feeling upset because of some breakups. We’re not…we’re not in a relationship or anything like that.”

“Is he okay?”

Finn shook his head from side to side. He didn’t want to lay this on his mother that quickly but there was no way of getting around it, considering Puck was already living in their house. “He’s not okay at all Mom,” he whispered. “His mom found out that he was pregnant and threw a fit in front of the whole glee club. She slapped him in the face and told him if he didn’t have an abortion then she was going to kick him out of the house. He told her he couldn’t.”

“Oh god this is the worst déjà vu I’ve ever had in my life,” she whispered. She looked Finn in the eye; her eyes filled with tears and she took him by the hand. “He can stay with us, if Burt permits it, Finn, but I do think that his keeping the baby is a terrible idea. You two are just boys and aren’t at all ready for this kind of commitment. It’s even worse than when you believed Quinn’s baby was yours. The social stigma is…you have no idea how bad it can be Finn…”

“I know it’s a bad idea,” he said quietly, “but losing Beth totally broke Puck down and I don’t think he can handle losing another child. I was part of this, so I have…I have to support him and his choices and everything.”

“I need to talk to Burt,” she whispered.

“He knows,” Finn admitted. “He heard Puck and I fighting with Kurt just before you got here. He let me handle this myself because I couldn’t…I couldn’t handle him seeing this. I know he probably hates me too.”

“I’ll be right back Finn.”

The moment that his mother left him, Finn broke down. The tears started coming out in sobs. It hurt so damned much. He couldn’t get himself to stop crying, so he ran upstairs to his room. He was such a pathetic, pathetic disappointment and everything he did was wrong. He only hurt the people that he loved and ruined his life over and over. This time, he wasn’t going to be given a second chance. His life was completely over.

He walked into his room and flung himself face down on the bed, not even acknowledging the fact that Puck was sitting in the room with him. He didn’t until he felt the weight of someone else join him on the bed. He didn’t want to talk about it so he just closed his eyes and tried to tune out everything. Unfortunately, it was hard to tune out the voice of the man carrying your child.

“I’m sorry for ruining your life,” Puck said softly, leaning up against Finn’s side and touching his “I’m sorry that I even got you involved man. I just wanted you to know that you were the dad, because…I don’t know.”

“I’m glad you let me know,” he said, sniffling a little bit and looking up into Puck’s eyes. “I mean, if you didn’t let me know then I would have been stupid and believed you slept with someone else and I…it hurt me when Quinn’s baby wasn’t mine. I know that she was never mine, but that’s still with me dude. I understand completely why you couldn’t ever give this baby up.”

 

The next few days were incredibly intense. Puck lived with Finn, but both Burt and his mom continuously gave the other boy dark and dirty looks. Finn struggled to keep his mind on the present, but all he could think about was the baby that barely stood a chance. He went back to work at school even though it all seemed irrelevant. Why should he try when he wasn’t going to get anywhere in his life?

He didn’t even pay mind to the gossip until he and Puck were confronted by an angry Quinn and Rachel in the hallway. “How could you commit such shameless behavior Finn?” Quinn lectured, looking at Puck like she was going to be sick.

“Quinn, you’re no one to talk,” Finn said simply.

“That pregnancy gene is a sin,” Quinn said seriously. “You also knew better than to sleep with him. Didn’t what happened to me teach you anything?”

“Look Quinn, back off,” Puck said. He had been exceedingly quiet since news of his condition was revealed. All of his bravado went out the window; all of his boldness was gone. He just walked quietly next to Finn and spoke up when he had to. “I’m a dumbass who can’t stop bringing kids into the world, that is true, but leave Finn alone. This isn’t any of your goddamned business.”

Rachel, who had been with Quinn the whole time, just started crying. “I can’t believe I thought I knew Finn,” she whispered to Quinn.

Finn looked at Puck and groaned.


	4. No regrets.

"You two have no right to be talking to us like this," Puck said firmly. Finn turned and smiled because Puck looked more confident than ever for at least a second. As terrified of the whole world as he was, it was nice to see the confidence flare up in someone who was so broken. "I can't believe the two of you, especially you Quinn. Yes, I'm a dumbass who repeats his mistakes but you know firsthand how it feels."

"I am a woman, Puck," she said harshly, not even flinching away from Puck’s confidence. "God made me able to bear children. God made all women that way."

"Yeah, I’m sure God also made you become a teenage mother," he said softly but with just enough bite in it to sting. Finn flinched; Quinn did not. "God, who I believe in as much as you do, made the gene that makes me able to have this baby. I didn't make a pact with Satan or whatever the evangelists say about this ability. I'm not proud that I had unprotected sex again. It was stupid and I should have tried to get myself tested before having sex with a guy, but back off the high horse Princess Celibacy."

Quinn fumed and opened her mouth to speak but Puck wasn't done, laying into Rachel.

"You, Rachel, need up get off that high horse. Everyone with eyes can see that you're still hung up on Finn. I get that. You guys have a huge history and half the reason we're in this mess is the confusion he had over you. I hope you sort that shit out, no lie, but don't act like a baby is a roadblock to your shot at Finn. You already did that once."

Finn very quickly shot a desperate look Puck's way and Puck returned it, before walking off toward the bathroom. "He's right," Finn said to the girls, before following. "He is so right about everything.”

Puck walked into the bathroom ahead of Finn and leaned against the sink. "I'm sorry I yelled at the girls like that," he said gently. "It wasn't right of me. I just couldn't believe they didn't...you know, understand what we were going through right now. How can people be so selfish?"

"We're teenagers," Finn mumbled. "I guess it's natural to be a little selfish."

"We can't anymore, you know? We can't be selfish because we're having a baby. There's no way we can be selfish at all."

"You really acted amazing out there," Finn mumbled. "You're going to be a great father, you know? You're tough and get down to business. You took care of that while I just stood there and kind of stared because I had no idea how to handle it. That definitely stands for something, knowing how to handle things.”

“Oh shut up Hudson.”

“You’re going to be a fantastic father,” he said gently, knowing that it was true. It was true that he and Puck were far too young to have children but at the same time if any teenage boy could pull off fatherhood it was Puck.

“You’re a liar,” he said softly. “You’re the one who has responsibility, morals, and all the shit that a dad’s supposed to have. If anyone’s going to be good for this kid, it’s you. Remember, Finn, when Quinn was pregnant with my kid she went straight to you because she knew that she had been fucked by a loser.”

“You’re not a loser,” Finn said firmly. “If anything I’ll be the worse father of the two of us, because I have no clue. I’m stupid and I know it. I don’t have the strength and am a total wimp. We’re going to be alright.” Even though neither felt that he would be alright, they accepted it. They left the bathroom shortly after and went through the rest of their day.

When they got to glee club that afternoon, the tensions were very high. The moment that Puck and Finn walked into the room together, the usual pre-rehearsal chatter stopped in an instant. Even Rachel, who had been talking loudly about song selection and Broadway staples just stopped dead in her tracks and sat down. Finn felt the heat radiating off of Puck and wanted to scream at them. Couldn’t any of them mind their own goddamned business? Puck didn’t seem to be as angry as he was though. He seemed defeated. His haughty, devil-may-care best friend was pretty much resigned to being the top of the rumor mill. It wasn’t like him.

When they got into singing, Mr. Schuester casually asked Puck if he was okay. Finn heard it and also saw Puck just shrug him off. It was obvious that Puck was isolating himself from everyone else around them and Finn knew he couldn’t let that happen. He did stay close to Puck in their little corner of things, for Puck’s sake.

It was when they got out of glee club that the question was asked. Finn couldn’t help himself because now that he knew what resulted of it, it was all that was on his mind. “What happened that night?” he asked Puck quietly. “I mean, dude, neither of us had ever slept with a guy before. We’re not gay.”

“Okay, for one thing Finn, I’m bisexual,” Puck mumbled, trying but failing to crack a joke. “I never felt the need to share and swore I’d never act on it, but yeah, I’m bi. I dunno what really happened though, man. We were just both unsure and feeling down on ourselves I guess. Sometimes sex happens when your moods are weird.”

“So you’re calling what we did some kind of mood-swing induced sex?” Finn mumbled, sorting it all out in his head. He remembered that night pretty well but the fundamental question of what happened still lingered in his head. He knew what happened physically but not what happened between them, essentially.

Finn had been upset and exhausted by his breakup with Quinn. Puck had broken up with Lauren a few weeks later and they were just so lonely. He had tried to get back with Rachel, who had promptly told him that he had, “disturbing dependency issues.” He deserved it, even though he had to look it up later to find out what it meant. He was too dependent on relationships, on his needs. He had ended up at Puck’s. There had been alcohol, yes, but not enough to affect anything, just a few beers tossed around between them.

“Girls suck,” Puck had declared and Finn had been one to agree. They were too teenage males and girls had really screwed up their lives again and again.

Puck had kissed Finn first. “I can’t stand all of the effort that I put into Lauren,” he said, declaring his words loud and dramatic. “I mean, sometimes I wish I was gay, honest. If I liked a guy, all I would have to do to impress him was this.”

He had then leaned down and kissed Finn without a second thought. “Yeah,” Finn had said, “that is a little bit on the…impressive side.”

Somehow, they had ended up kissing, making out breathlessly on his best friend’s bed. It was the best kissing that he had ever experienced in his whole life. It somehow advanced into touching and…then sex.

“I don’t know why I agreed to it,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” Puck mumbled. “I know you regret it, dude.”

“I don’t.”

Finn tried not to make regret a part of his life. Sure, there were things he would have liked to do differently in his life, but he was a pretty big believer in that “everything happens for a reason” kind of thing. He had made love to his best friend that night for a reason and this baby was here. He couldn’t regret.


	5. That night.

“You made me feel good,” Finn remembered, knowing that Puck needed to know that it wasn’t a terrible thing what they did. “It was really comforting and good for both of us. I liked what happened. It was better than any, you know, sexual encounter than I ever had.”

“How many sexual encounters have you had Hudson?” Puck asked with a world weary smile.

“Oh shut up,” he said, laughing a little bit because the tension was lifted to a degree with that. They were in a really bad situation but they would be fine. It had been over so quickly that Finn had barely considered it though. He had sex with his best friend and then they woke up saying they’d never do it again, because well, having sex with your best friend was a bad idea. It was treated like something you would regret but Finn couldn’t regret it. “We said that it was a bad idea,” Finn mumbled. “We said we’d never talk about it again. Why did we say that?”

“I dunno,” Puck mumbled. “You sort of aren’t supposed to have sex with your male best friend when you’re not even into that.”

“You said you were bi,” Finn said, just as darkly.

“Well, I mean, I am but I never thought I’d act on it,” he said honestly. “You just don’t get as far in life being attracted to dudes, that’s a fact. I like sex, so I figured I’d just like sex with girls and ignore the part of me that wanted to have sex with guys. Genius plan right?”

“Genius,” he mumbled. “I think I might be bi too, or whatever. All I know is that I liked what we did.”

“Big help all this is.”

Finn looked at the other boy and then smiled, trying to be positive. “It’s going to be okay,” he said softly. “I know that we’re not a couple or father material but we’re both strong and we can handle this. I believe in you.”

“I wish I did.”

Finn gave Puck a very serious look. “You have to start believing in yourself if we’re actually going to do this,” he said. “You can’t be some kid’s father if you’re going to walk around full of self doubt.”

“I never had a good father to show me what I’m supposed to do. My dad walked out, if you haven’t forgotten, Finn.”

“Mine is dead,” Finn mumbled.

“I just don’t want to fuck up my kid the way that he fucked me up,” Puck lamented softly. “I don’t want to raise this punk ass kid who thinks that he has to get in trouble to get the attention of the people he loves. I don’t want to ruin this kids future and I should have had an abortion but I’m so damned selfish. Losing Beth hurt so much that I couldn’t even think about losing again. I’m also going to ruin you Finn.”

“How?”

“You’re now stuck with me,” Puck snapped. He had said it before but this time it had so much passion. “I never wanted to ruin you. I know that I’ve done a shit job of showing it but you’re my best friend and I love you man.”

“I…I love you too, dude, you know that,” Finn said. He was hesitant to use those words but he knew he loved Puck, platonically. He had gotten over the pseudo masculine idea of a guy not being able to love his friends. He loved his friends; he was devoted to his friends. “I’m taking up my old job again. I’m going to do everything I can to support this baby.”

Puck looked at him and there was this insane look of gratitude in his eyes that was a little bit frightening for Finn. He knew that Puck felt it too. “I have one lined up too,” he said softly. “I’m working out the details but Finn I’m not going to leave you alone to support this like Quinn did. I am going to work as hard as I can to help, to do something.”

“Is this job legal?” he asked.

“Of course it is,” Puck said. “I’m done with illegal shit.”

“Did you talk to mom or Burt at all?” Finn asked Puck. He had wondered if either of them had talked to their new house guest, but had kind of been hesitant to ask. He hated the fact that not only was his life upside down because of the sudden burden but also his parents’ lives were completely affected by the baby. He hated that he had to put them through this hell when they didn’t deserve it.

“Burt talked to me,” Puck mumbled, looking down at the sink. “He said that we’d be okay, that we were strong guys. He told me to stop trying to act like I’m not capable of emotions. He told me that part of being strong was accepting the bad parts of this.”

Finn nodded, knowing that his stepfather was probably right. Puck had always tried to be the strongest person Finn knew. He always tried to keep his guard up and hide the fact that his emotions existed and hurt him. That wasn’t something that he could do now, because the baby needed his or her parents to be there, not just physically but in their heads too.

Finn was so terrified.

He and Puck went home shortly after. Finn was a little bit afraid to be at home, knowing the way that his mom and Burt likely thought of them. They entered the house; Burt was in the kitchen with a newspaper spread out on the counter. “How was school?” he asked. It was a sort of half-assed attempt to make things seem normal, yes, but Finn appreciated it immensely. Burt was too awesome. Finn knew that he was lucky Kurt Hummel brought their parents together. It might not have been with the best intentions at the time but Burt was the closest thing Finn had to a father and well, Finn liked to consider his stepfather his father.

He sat down at the table and Puck joined him. “It was okay,” he lied. He didn’t tell him about the fights, the tension and the growing anxiety that was making him sick. He was just as open and honest with his stepfather as he could be.

“That’s good,” he said. “Just stay right where you’re at, alright? When Carole gets home I’m bringing out dinner. Kurt cooked and put it away.”

“That’s awesome,” Finn said, avoiding his usual complaint about Kurt’s cooking and the type of foods he enjoyed. “Very awesome.”

He couldn’t help notice at dinner how content Puck was to be there, despite everything that was going on. He felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him and he hoped that he could give Puck even more contentment than an awkward family dinner. He reached over under the table and held his hand. Puck turned around and smiled lightly.


	6. Real Love.

Time seemed to pass quickly for them. They both went to school every day, determined to get their education even on top of all of the mess. Finn's mother had told him in no uncertain terms that he was graduating no matter what it took. He appreciated that threat because otherwise he might have chickened out because of his fears.

Puck was doing pretty well considering everything. It seemed like every day his abdomen was expanding further. Finn felt like every step was bringing them closer and closer to their child.

It took a bit of time to actually start thinking about the baby as a child and not the unexpected burden that had been laid on his life. With Quinn, he thought about the baby almost immediately but with Puck he opened his eyes one day after knowing for over a month. He realized that in a short time he would be holding a son or daughter in his arms. In no time at all a child was going to be calling him his or her father.

When Puck reached five months, Carole took the pair for an ultrasound. Finn knew that he and Puck would have never survived without the financial help of their parents, who paid for things like doctor’s appointments, claiming that it wasn’t a burden because Kurt no longer went to Dalton, even though Finn knew that it was.

Puck’s doctor was a very sweet Indian woman who specialized in male pregnancies. She worked pretty far, in the city, and she always had something sweet to say about Puck. This time, she absolutely lit up when she saw how much his baby bump had grown. “Look at that!” she practically squealed. “How lovely! Your little boy or girl has grown a lot since the last appointment. I bet you boys are absolutely thrilled to get to see the ultrasound today.”

“We are,” Finn said softly. He knew he was terrified but at the same time had this desperate need to see the baby. He held Puck’s hand in his. Even though the two of them were not a couple, he couldn’t help being affectionate with Puck. He supposed it really was the paternal urges kicking in and Puck was pregnant with his baby. Puck didn’t seem to mind it, being rather clingy and needy.

“Well, Noah, sit down already,” the doctor said enthusiastically.

Finn stayed aside, close to his mom, while the doctor prepared the ultrasound. She lifted Puck’s shirt and touched his stomach lightly. “We’ll do the full examination afterward but of course, I know how eager new parents are to see this first.”

She carefully put the gel onto her patient. Puck grumbled and closed his eyes. Finn knew that Puck hated doctors and was also grouchy because he really had to use the bathroom again. He had to go like all of the time. The doctor carefully dragged the wand along the roundness of his stomach. “There we go,” she said.

The image on the screen appeared. “There’s the head right there,” the doctor said, gesturing to the area. Finn saw it, able to make it out pretty clearly. There was a head and an arm and even the faintest outlines of what would be the baby’s ear.

He got closer and Puck gripped his hand in some sort of panic. “It’s alright, I’m right here,” he said, but he couldn’t draw his eyes away from the image on the screen.

“It’s suspiciously lacking in a penis,” Finn heard his mother quip from where she stood near the door. She had been very upset when they found out Puck was pregnant but was slowly adjusting to the idea and Finn was sure that part of her was even excited to be a grandmother. “So tell me, doc, are these boys giving me a granddaughter?”

The woman nodded. “Of course these things are never one hundred percent,” she said, “but I can tell you with the most confidence possible that you are the parents of a baby girl.”

Puck looked to Finn and finally he could draw his eyes away from his child – his daughter – and look at the man who was carrying her. “Puck, it’s a girl,” he mumbled softly.

“I heard,” Puck said, keeping Finn’s eyes. “It’s…it’s our little girl” He was crying shamelessly and Finn found that brought tears to his eyes too. They had both dreamed of having a daughter of their own and even though that dream had never involved each other, there it was. “We have a little girl Finn.”

“I’ll go make a print order for the image and video,” the doctor said quickly. “Noah, get cleaned up and we’ll finish the examination.”

“A little girl,” Carole said softly. “Finn, your dad and I wanted a little girl so badly. She’s going to be absolutely, positively, perfect. You guys are…blessed.”

“Mhm,” Finn agreed, staring at Puck who looked on the verge of a breakdown. He understood why. This was the child that Puck had always dreamed of. Puck had been a good father from the moment that Quinn said she was pregnant, in his opinion. He had put that baby ahead of everything else that dominated his life. He knew that this baby was the most important thing in Puck’s entire world.

Puck cleaned himself up while they spoke. The doctor returned to give the examination and asked Finn to go get the imaging from the technician. It took awhile because the technician was very busy and when he returned the examination was done. “Is Puck done?” Finn asked his mother who was sitting outside.

“Yep, I think so,” she said softly. “Why don’t you go check?”

Finn walked to the door and slightly opened it. Puck was mumbling incoherently to himself and Finn could tell that he was crying, hard. He walked into the room and gave his best friend a tiny hug. Puck used it to pull him closer. “I want to just give her everything,” he said softly. “I know I’m just a stupid teenage father, Finn. I was destined to be a stupid teenage father but just looking at her there, I already love her so damned much. How can I love a freakin’ picture so damned much?”

“I love her too man,” Finn said, before he even realized that yes he did. He loved the baby that he and Puck had brought into the world. He loved the child and he loved her father, who was carrying her and had been hurt so much by his world and situation. It was so true. He loved them so much. “I love you both.”


	7. Blessed.

Sitting close to Puck and trying to figure out their savings, Finn felt as though he would vomit. There was so much to do and so much to plan and they weren't smart enough to do it. "This is really stupid," he said desperately, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that the baby was getting closer than ever and they were still floundering, unable to find footing to support her. "I just want to be able to take care of her."

"Me too man," Puck said, trying not to look at the coffee table where they had left their dismal figuring. He was quiet for a very long time.

"We've been doing as well as we can," Finn said. They had done well but it was just not nearly enough.

"You should take that scholarship you got and go to Ohio State," he responded. "If one of us can get an education..."

"Let's not talk about that," Finn snapped. He tried his best not to snap but he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to think about the plans he had before he found out that Puck was pregnant. It was another world and right now he had to prioritize. Getting an education would be the best long term but it wasn't exactly logical when they needed money now for the baby.

Puck wrapped his arm around Finn's shoulder and held tightly. "We're doing all we can," he said. "We're doing all we can."

Finn nodded and turned his focus to Puck. "How are you doing?" he asked softly, gently putting a hand on the other's stomach. Puck had made a big show a couple weeks ago about how nobody could touch his stomach except Finn because the kid was sort of his. He found it offensive if it was anyone except the father of his beloved baby. Finn laid his hand there and couldn't believe that Puck was seriously getting bigger every day. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty good."

"Good, remember Mom said we can see the doctor if you ever feel uncomfortable," Finn said seriously. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen," Puck assured Finn.

"I know." He smiled. "I'll go get you something to drink."

Puck didn't take that too well. "Finn, stop," he said, giving him a look that was absolutely serious. "I need you to stop treating me like a chick. I'm good; the baby's good. We don't need you to wait on us like some hopped up Prince Charming."

Finn blinked. "Where is that coming from?" he asked. "I'm the father Puck; of course I want to support you."

"Yeah I know," Puck said darkly. "You're the father and I'm the mother.”

Finn looked at his best friend, the guy he loved and the other father of his child. He tilted his head to the side. “Puck, dude, are you really serious? I know as well as you do that you’re not a girl. You’re having a baby, sure, but you’re a dude who can have children, not a girl.”

“Well then stop treating me like one,” Puck said defensively, looking at Finn. Finn could see the anger and annoyance in his eyes but underneath that he could see the genuine hurt. “I’m being treated like a girl by everyone. People keep trying to touch me and ask when I’m due. The girls at school have completely stopped looking at me and I’m more of a social outcast than ever. I’ve dropped all of my sports and lost all of the scholarships I have coming. I work for a fuckin’ fabric store while you’re out doing all these odd jobs for Burt. Every last bit of masculinity I had has been completely shredded thanks to this thing.”

“This thing?” Finn asked, irritated. “This thing is our child.”

He groaned. He knew Puck was just being irritable and he knew he’d get upset too. He walked into the kitchen to let Puck calm down. He quickly went to the refrigerator to get a drink, sighing a little bit and grabbing Puck something too. He was about to return to the kitchen when he found that someone else had made their way to the angry pregnant teen first. He listened to Kurt and Puck talk, intently.

"Why'd you go off on Finn like that?" Kurt asked. "He's being really good to you, Noah and you're treating him rather unfairly."

"I'm a dude!" Puck yelled, standing up. "I know my magical uterus doesn't exactly make me seem like one but I'm a dude. Finn used to be my bro, my best friend but he's...he's making me feel like a chick and it hurts ok? I don't wanna be a chick even if I'm having a baby. I'm not a chick!"

"Say chick one more time and you'll get your wish to be treated like a man, because pregnant or no I will hit you," Kurt said smoothly. "Oh and yes I count as a guy. Noah, Finn is worried about the baby, he's not treating you like a girl. Plus, do you know why there's so much controversy around the Gaia gene and it's carriers?"

"No, why Hummel?" he huffed.

"Gender roles," he said. "The government tried their hardest to squash information about the gene and its carriers not only because it implied homosexuality but the fact that pregnant man subverts gender roles completely."

Finn listened to them from the kitchen, nodding a little bit. He could see why homophobes wouldn’t like people like Puck. He realized as he listened to Kurt lecture Puck that he didn’t know much about the gene that made his best friend pregnant. “I guess I never really knew much about this gene thing,” Puck admitted out loud, “even if I do have it.”

Kurt’s voice was pretty gentle. Finn peeked out to see that he was talking very calmly. Kurt met his eyes over Puck’s shoulder. “There have always been legends and stories about pregnant men but it was first scientifically proven to be a natural gene in the late twenties,” Kurt explained. “Churches have been trying to preach it as the greatest sin since sodomy, of course, but at the same time people are still denying its existence.”

Puck looked down at his stomach. “Well, I can tell them that it exists,” he said softly.

Kurt nodded.

“I don’t think that I’m the best person to explain this to you,” he said sincerely, “but you and Finn should really read up on it. I know a really good book that’ll help you guys out. Dad and I read it when we found out you were pregnant. It has more of a historical and social context than anything practical so I’m sure that’s why he hasn’t shared it with you. You should know those things too though. It’s just as important, because well, the baby…she’s going to be dealing with the social stigma too.”

Finn’s stomach clinched a little bit at the idea of someone hating or hurting his baby because she came out of the wrong body. He walked out into the living room and Puck looked at him. “Finn, dude, I’m sorry,” he said softly, shaking his head. “I’m just tired and scared and this turns everything upside down, you know?”

“It does,” Finn said, “but we’re in it together.”

“Don’t forget the most fabulous godfather in the universe,” Kurt said. “Let me go grab that book. You guys should read together.”

When Kurt returned, he handed them the book and left. Puck opened it up and Finn read over his shoulder. He read a passage out loud to Puck, hoping that Puck understood that he wasn’t a freak of nature or a woman. “The Gaia gene, though often contested as abnormal or unnatural is in fact a very natural genetic mutation and its carriers the few men blessed with the gift of life and childbirth.”

“Am I blessed Finn?” Puck asked softly.

“I think so.”


	8. Chapter 8

"Finn, what size is your head?" Carole asked. She was sitting at the coffee table with Kurt, looking over what Finn knew were the graduation order forms. Kurt looked up at Finn expectantly, tapping a pen on the table in front of them.

"I really don't want to order the cap and gown stuff," he said softly. "I asked Principal Figgins the other day and he said that I can choose not to. The school will mail me the diploma and stuff. It's just too much money and really stupid."

Kurt looked uncomfortable and Carole gave him a look. He nodded. She turned to Finn and smiled. "Kurt actually offered to pay for Noah's graduation things," she said gently. "I was going to pay for yours anyway so no nonsense. This is a big moment kid, and I wanna see it happen."

Finn looked up at that. “Dude, really?” he asked, but at the same time he knew Puck would never deal with that. He was already suffering like crazy because of all the support the Hummel-Hudson family had given him. “I…that’s really sweet of you Kurt, but there’s no way that Puck would go for that. He’s really uncomfortable with that kind of stuff.”

“He’s going to have to learn to deal,” Kurt said harshly. “He’s a member of the family now and c’mon, for him this is a gigantic feat. He actually graduated high school.”

Finn snorted a little at that. “Well yeah,” he admitted, “but c’mon.”

“Kurt’s a supportive brother,” Carole said, looking at Kurt with pride in her eyes. Finn, for a moment, wished that he could put that kind of pride in his mother’s eyes. “Maybe you can tell Noah. That might be a bit lighter way to lay it down on him.”

"I guess I'll go find Puck and talk to him," Finn said. He looked at his mom and then at Kurt. He realized that he truly was blessed. He was in one of the worst situations that a teenager could be in but at the same time he had love and support. When Quinn and Puck's parents found out about their respective pregnancies they had kicked their kids out; Finn knew firsthand how bad it could be. He was lucky.

He found Puck sitting on his bed. "Hey," he said softly. "How are you?"

Puck looked up at him. Their eyes met and Finn saw just how weary Puck was. "Hey dude," he muttered. He felt really bad for Puck. Whatever was hard on Finn was about a billion times more difficult for Puck. He looked worn down to the last ounce of energy he had. “I’m okay. Tired. What have you been doing?”

“Well I was just downstairs talking to Mom and Kurt,” Finn explained. “They’re doing all the graduation ordering and stuff.”

“Damn, I seriously forgot that was coming up,” Puck said, running a hand through his hair. He looked so different. He was still the muscular teen with a mowhawk but he also had such a distinct curve to his stomach. He was gorgeous and Finn didn’t know why he was thinking things like that. It was true though; one hundred percent true. “You going to be there?”

“Yeah,” Finn said. “So are you.”

“Dude, I…”

“Kurt’s offered to pay for it,” he mumbled, giving Puck a weak smile and trying to word it in a way that didn’t imply charity. “Isn’t that something else? You were the guy who threw Kurt into dumpsters and now you guys are that close as friends. That’s pretty cool.”

“Kurt’s forgiving and I’m not a jackass anymore, but I don’t think I can do that,” Puck said quickly.

“Well just think about it,” he said, softly.

Puck gave a nod that meant he was listening. “I’m just not really focused on my future Finn,” he said honestly. “I’m thinking about hers. What is she going to be like? Are people going to treat her like shit because she’s a gay sex baby? Is she going to hate the fact that her dads are losers in high school? I’m so tired of all the questions in my head.”

Finn met Puck’s eyes and knew that all the questions plaguing him were in Puck’s head as well and his fears were intensified by the fact that he was carrying her. He leaned over and pressed his forehead to Puck’s, looking into his best friend’s eyes. He never imagined they would be here, not like this. He pressed his lips to the other boy’s, kissing him lightly, softly. He couldn’t really remember in the daze of having sex with Puck if they’d really ever kissed. He had an urge to kiss Puck that he couldn’t deny.

When the kiss ended, Puck looked defensive, almost vulnerable. “Why did you kiss me?” he asked.

Finn wasn’t exactly sure why he had. “I just had this urge to kiss you,” he admitted. “I don’t remember if we kissed that night, you know, when she was conceived. You looked like you needed to be kissed and I uh, wanted to.”

“Woulda been easier to just say you wanted to.”

Finn nodded a little bit, mumbling, “I wanted to.”

They were both quiet for a moment. It was weird, not knowing what their relationship status was. There was a lot of love between them, of course, but they were so unsure as to what that love was. Was it the friendship that had been with them since they were babies, or was it something more? Was it masked by the life they created?

“Have you thought about what you want to name her, Finn?” Puck asked, walking away for a minute, struggling and then sitting back down. “I’ve thought of a couple of names but only one really stuck out for me. It’s gotta be something pretty and perfect, fitting for our little girl and all.”

“What name have you thought of?” Finn asked, not really trusting his own ability to pick a name fitting of their baby. He figured that Puck probably felt closer to the baby and therefore should know the answer.

“I was thinking Hannah,” Puck mumbled. “It’s Hebrew and means grace. It sounds pretty.”

“I like that,” he said brightly. “Hannah.”

Puck smiled at that, a total, genuine smile. “I’m glad you like it, dude,” he mumbled. “Your mom gave me this old book of hers and it stuck out to me. Did you know she was going to name you Katie if you were a girl?”

“I did not,” Finn said.

“Yeah. Would’ve been pretty, huh Katie?”

Finn smiled a little bit and yeah, he sort of had that urge to kiss his best friend again. It was a good thing that they were having a baby together because otherwise that would have been weird. He rolled his eyes and then gave into his urge.

“You’re gonna keep doing that a lot now, Hudson?” Puck asked against his lips.

He nodded. He was definitely planning on it if he could help it.


	9. Anywhere.

During lunch, Finn and Puck had taken to eating in the library. The librarian had a soft spot for Finn and she also knew that Puck was being badly harassed. Finn was glad that school was in its final days. If it wasn't, he would have been terrified for Puck's safety with the taunting and jeering that was common at McKinley. At least nobody had physically bullied him, proving that there was some sense of decency within their peers. "It's freakin' quiet in here," Puck lamented, looking around them. He ate his own lunch pretty quietly, but Finn could tell he was unnerved by the silence of others.

"It's the library," Finn teased. "It's supposed to be quiet, remember?"

"Well, I hate it," Puck said darkly. "Wanna bail for the choir room?"

Finn nodded and no sooner did he do that, then did they head for the choir room. It was their safe haven. When they entered, it was empty, but didn't have the same gloomy quiet of the library. Finn casually reached over and took Puck's hand in his. He looked at Puck and found himself staring. He honestly thought that the other boy was the bravest person he'd ever met. Hannah was going to be lucky to have him as a father, Finn knew it.

"Do you ever think about her, like, five years from now?" Puck asked, taking a seat at the piano."After all the teenage pregnancy bullshit is past us and we're just young parents with a baby girl in kindergarten? It's almost like, I can't even picture it and it makes me crazy. I want to see her face, even begin to imagine how she’ll be.”

Finn paused. He shook his head. No, he couldn't see that far into the future. He wished that he could, because it would be a nice way to see that everything was going to be alright, but he supposed his mind wasn’t advanced enough for that or something. “I really wish I could,” he admitted softly, still holding Puck’s hand.

“Do you think you and I would maybe, uh, be together?” Puck asked. “I mean, I know that we’re both going to do everything we can to give her as much as we can but, yeah, it’d be cool if we were together.”

Finn paused at that. It made his heart jump around a little. Puck was so unbelievably insecure sometimes. “Well, we’re together right now, right?” he asked. It was funny. They were dealing with so much in regards to the pregnancy that Finn wasn’t sure what they were. They had kissed and then kissing became a common occurrence but they had never said explicitly, “yes we are together.”

“Are we?” Puck asked.

“I sure hope so,” Finn mumbled, squeezing a little bit tighter. “I thought we were at least.”

“Okay we’re together,” Puck said brightly.

“Never thought you’d want to settle down with one person,” Finn joked lightly. It was funny how Puck’s entire identity had shifted with the arrival of the baby. “I thought you told me that being with one person made you bored.”

“Well that changed, Hudson.”

Finn felt good about that, honestly. He was glad that Puck was as serious and involved in this as he was. He rubbed his hand lightly. "Dude, you're awesome," he said, a little choked up. Yeah, he and Puck had a rough past but they were bros, best friends and now boyfriends. It was pretty awesome.

"Totally," Puck said softly. Finn couldn't help wonder whether the pregnancy was good for Puck in a roundabout way. It mellowed him out and was keeping him from a lot of the horrible mistakes he'd made. He was going to be a better person and it was all because of their little family. “You know, Finn, I haven’t heard from my mom since that day she stormed into this room. I thought that maybe she’d come around or something but I guess since I’m keeping the ‘abomination,’ that’s that for our relationship.”

“It’s her loss,” Finn muttered. He looked up and met Puck’s eyes. He honestly hadn’t thought about losing Puck’s mom as the painful thing it was. He had always known Mrs. Puckerman as a cold, cynical woman who treated her son like shit and was pretty much the opposite of his own mother. He had hated that Puck had to deal with her constant criticisms and her hateful words. “She doesn’t deserve you around, man.”

“I know,” Puck mumbled back. “It still hurts.”

That entire day, Finn was very focused on just how much Puck’s life ended up hurting him. His father had taken off when he was a small child, leaving a hole in his life that had never truly been filled. His mother was a cold, cruel woman who blamed her children for her husband’s leaving her and had always treated Puck and his then-infant sister like burdens. Puck did everything he could to get her attention and be in her good graces, just around the same time that he fell into so much trouble at school. Then, he got Quinn pregnant and ruined the only solid friendship he ever had. Finn was so thankful that Puck was doing better.

Graduation was three days later and Finn was still thinking about how much Puck had been through. The senior class met that morning in the auditorium. How many times had Finn been in that very auditorium before? For so many years he had thought McKinley was all there was. He was obsessed with popularity, his status among a small town of idiots. Now, all that mattered was getting out of McKinley and starting his life with Puck and their daughter.

Puck kind of hung off to the side, his graduation gown over his shoulder. “This is it huh?” he asked, looking at Finn and smiling. “Not that I’ll probably ever leave Lima, much like I predicted, but at least high school is over and we’ll never have to look at McKinley again, at least, not until she goes there.”

“Shut up,” Finn mumbled. “Hannah’s not going to McKinley okay? We’re going to sort our stuff out by then. No daughter of mine is ever coming here…”

That made Puck smile. He looked up and nodded. “I believe that, Hudson,” he said, “but only when it comes from you.”

“C’mon,” he said softly. “Let’s go see Mom and Burt before everything starts up.”


	10. Pride.

His mom lit up the moment she saw them and rushed over to give Finn a hug. "I can't believe this day is finally here," she said. Finn tucked her into a quick, tight hug. He was so thankful for her. He knew very well that she could have disowned him over this but she didn't. She was a strong, brave woman who deserved so much better of a son but she took what she had and he loved her for it. "My little boy's all grown up, graduating high school."

Finn didn't mention that he needed to do a lot more growing up than graduating but he was definitely thinking it. He needed to grow up at light speed, something that was not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. "That's true mom," he said brightly, not betraying the thoughts that were going a mile a minute in his head.

"Noah, you look handsome," she told Puck, pulling away from Finn. "I think the clothes that Kurt picked out for you look amazing."

"Dude even knows how to dress a whale," Puck joked. "That's really saying something."

"You're not a whale," she said, shaking her head. “You look absolutely perfect.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Hudson,” he mumbled, a much more subdued Puck than had ever existed in the past.

While his mom went excitedly over to talk to Kurt, probably to complement his fashion skills, Burt cornered Finn. “I’m proud of you, you know that?” he said, casually. Finn couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was nice to hear them, of course, but he knew that he was a screw up, a teenage father and an idiot. He didn’t even think his own mother could be proud of him. Why would her husband be?

Finn shook his head. He knew it would be disrespectful to tell Burt that no, he wasn’t, but he honestly couldn’t believe that. “Burt,” he mumbled.

“I mean it, kid,” the man said, looking serious. “You’re handling all of this better than Karen and I did when she was pregnant with Kurt. I had been out of high school for awhile, but honestly, she wasn’t much older than you and Noah are now. We were scared senseless and her family was pretty merciless when it came to the fact that she’d been dating an older man and was now pregnant with his kid.”

“Wait, you weren’t married to Kurt’s mom when she got pregnant?” Finn asked, not quite understanding. He had always assumed that Kurt’s parents were this ideal, perfect, married couple.

“We got married before he was born,” Burt said, once again with brutal honesty. He clapped Finn on the shoulder and drew him aside, away from the crowd of ecstatic graduating seniors. “It wasn’t like a shotgun wedding or anything, though, don’t you get me wrong. Karen wanted to be married and well, I was always extremely weak to whatever she wanted.” There was a long silence between them and then his stepfather spoke again. “Anyway, the point of that little rant is, that I’m proud of you Finn. You never were the type of kid who could handle such responsibilities and honestly, when you thought your girlfriend was pregnant, Carole was sure you’d crumble. You’re not crumbling now and you’re going to be a damned good father to that baby.”

Finn thought he was going to cry. He felt that tingly, prickly feeling in his eyes that usually meant tears were coming, but he held them back. “Thank you,” he whispered, unable to get any other words out of there. “I…I really needed to hear that Burt. I get so scared sometimes that I won’t be able to give Puck and the baby what they really need. I really needed to hear that.” He reached out and hugged his stepfather. The man held him tightly, not letting go for a good long moment.

“Now go get your brother and that boy of yours. I want to see a graduation.”

“Yes, sir,” Finn said, hurrying to find Kurt and Puck.

He found the two boys quickly. His mom had gone off to get her camera or something and Puck and Kurt were talking animatedly about baby clothing of all things. He broke into a smile when Kurt announced that he was in charge of Hannah’s clothing and there was no room for argument. Puck looked a little aghast, even though he was joking around. “Kurt, I swear, my daughter is not going to wear anything that contains sequins, feathers or fur,” he said dramatically, pouting in a way that made Finn’s heart pound a little. He was so in love.

“Sometimes sequins can work,” Kurt said, pouting right back. “Seriously, Noah, you stick with me and she’ll be the best dressed baby in all of the country.”

“She’s going to look like a Broadway costume closet, isn’t she?” he asked Finn, realizing that he was there.

“I dunno man, Kurt did a pretty good job picking out your clothes for today,” Finn said, giving his stepbrother a smile. Even though he and Kurt had some rough times, they were really working things out, especially as Kurt and Puck became closer friends. “Seriously, though, Kurt, can we at least avoid sequins and feathers? I don’t want her to grow up hating me.”

Kurt pursed his lips a little and then nodded. “Only because you’re family, Finn,” he said, finally.

It wasn’t long before an announcement came on the intercom, instructing all graduating seniors to head into the backstage area. Finn took Puck’s hand as they walked, unashamed of their relationship or the fact that Puck was pregnant with his baby anymore. He had learned a lot in a few short months and the most important lesson was that it didn’t matter what people thought as a whole. The only people whose opinions mattered were the people he loved.

The graduation was over pretty quickly. McKinley had a relatively small graduating class and it seemed Coach Sylvester was literally speeding Figgins through the reading of the names. When Puck’s name was called, he heard some of the jocks yell “Pregnant Fag,” but it didn’t even faze his boyfriend at all. Puck lifted his head, flipped them off and then thanked the principal for the good time.

Finn was happy. He had honestly had trouble picturing the moment that he would leave McKinley in the dust. “At least that part of our lives is over,” Puck said, standing beside him, clutching his diploma as though it was made of gold. Finn knew that the fact that he graduated was pretty precious to him. “We’re going on to much bigger and better things now.”

There was an excess of chatter after the ceremony, as well as hugs and tears that Finn felt no need to take part in. He was surprised, however, when Tina caught him alone just outside of the gym and gestured for him to talk to her. When he walked over, she looked uncomfortable and mumbled, “Finn, can we talk for a minute? There’s something that I really want to tell you and that I’ve wanted to tell you for some time.”


	11. Not alone.

“Sure, what is it?”

Finn followed Tina to a more private area, honestly a little bit confused. He and Tina were friends, of course, but they didn’t talk that often outside of glee club, being in different social circles through their entire high school careers. Tina looked around, finally deciding that they were far enough from the chattering public and then spoke softly.

“Finn,” she said, “I just really wanted to tell you that what you and Puck are doing is so brave and nobody should tell you otherwise. I know that you’ve already seen a lot of the hate that’s out there but the gene that allowed Puck to get pregnant isn’t a sin, it isn’t wrong and it’s meant to be. I’ve had trouble dealing with it for years now, but it is a good thing and it’s well, it’s the reason that I’m alive okay?”

Finn was shocked. He opened his mouth but no sounds came out. Tina looked up at him nervously, smiling awkwardly and wringing her hands. She looked as though she had just let a huge and horrible burden lift off of her. “Yes,” she said softly. “I was born from my father, as a result of the same gene. I just wanted to let you guys know that you’ve inspired me to stop trying to hide the fact.”

“I don’t understand,” he said. He had met her father and her mother. He knew she didn’t come from a gay couple like Rachel or anything.

"My mom couldn't get pregnant," Tina whispered. She looked up at Finn and she was still smiling that same relieved smile. “She was devastated of course. She and my father talked other options like adoption and surrogacy but it seemed like it was never going to work for them. As a last ditch effort, my dad decided to get himself tested for the Gaia gene. He never had before, because he wasn't gay. He came back positive and his best friend, who I call my Uncle Daniel, helped him get pregnant. I'm thankful for the Gaia gene because, well, that's why I'm alive. You and Puck are so brave. I've been denying I was born from a man for years because people are so hateful. I won’t do it anymore though. I'm proud that my dad was so strong. Your daughter is going to be so proud of her daddies too.”

Finn tried to get over his shock long enough to ask the girl a question. Tina took off her red graduation gown while he waited and sat down. He sat beside her. “Did you always hide it?” he asked.

“No,” she said softly. “My family lived in Chicago before we moved to Lima. I didn’t bother to hide it and neither did my family. Needless to say, we got hell for it.”

Tina looked distant as she spoke. Her eyes watered up a little and she continued, reluctantly.

"I was teased pretty mercilessly and the local Church didn't want us there once they found out how I was born. I didn't have any friends and I kept getting called all these horrible slurs, fag child, butt baby, all this wonderful stuff. I knew that something was wrong with the way my father gave birth to me, at least in the eyes of those around me, and I withdrew into myself."

Tina sniffled a little. "My dad felt very guilty," she said tenderly. "He and my mom had always been so open minded and I don't think he really anticipated what would happen to me. It was miserable and I kind of withdrew into myself. I got quiet. We moved to Ohio when it got too bad."

"How old were you?" Finn asked, thinking about both poor Tina and his daughter. Were he and Puck foolishly bringing Hannah into a world where, like Tina, she would want to hide how she was born? Would she be harassed in Lima?

"Ten."

"I'm sorry." It was the first thing Finn could think of to say but he knew there was no apologizing for all the torture Tina went through when she was just a little girl. She didn’t deserve that at all and he felt terrible.

Tina shook her head. "You and Puck are so strong," she said. "You taught me so much. I have been legitimately ashamed of my identity and it's silly. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud that my parents loved me enough to find any way possible to give me life. I'm proud I was born from a guy."

Finn nodded. "You should be," he said. He couldn't imagine Tina's dad and his situation. He was courageous. "Your dad is amazing for what he did."

Tina smiled and put her hand on Finn’s shoulder. "One of these days I'm going to become an advocate for equal birth rights," she said. "I...it doesn't deserve to be so stigmatized. It's a way of making life all the same. It's just as good."

Finn nodded.

Tina turned her head, flushed, but then looked back to him. "I admire you Finn," she said sincerely. "I also wanted to let you know that I'm staying in Lima for a little bit. I'm getting my early college classes done at the junior college. If you and Puck need anything - support, a babysitter, a friend, well, I'm around."

Finn was surprised at that. The majority of young adults living in Lima wanted the hell out of there the moment they had a diploma in their hand. Here Tina was, literally holding one in her hand and she was staying. She was staying here. “Why are you staying?” he asked her, shaking his head.

“It’s mostly a money thing,” she said. “I’ve also never been the get-out-of-Lima now types, not that anyone would have noticed that. I’m starting at a junior college for the first classes. It makes sense Finn. Whatever you need, I’m there, okay?”

Finn nodded, thankful for the help. He knew that he and Puck needed whatever they could get. “Did you tell Puck this?” he asked softly. “I really think that he needs to know about a kid who was born the same way she’ll be who made it out a great person.”  
“I’m not a great person,” she objected, “but I am telling Puck as soon as I can. I just wanted to lay it on you first, because, well just because you’re an easy person to talk to Finn.”

“Tina Cohen-Chang get graduated self over here!” said a man, who Finn imagined was her father. Tina rushed over to his side, giving Finn a quick goodbye. Finn realized that there was a lot he was still learning about the world.


	12. I love you man.

It was two days after graduation when Puck's mom decided to come back into the picture. "I just want to talk to you," she said, standing in front of Puck in the Hummel-Hudson family lawn. Finn immediately ran to Puck's side to defend him. He may have stood in stunned silence the first time she hurt Puck but that was not going to happen now. Puck had waited for her to change her mind but it was too late.

He expressed just that when Finn came up from behind him. “There’s no use in this, Ma,” Puck said, shaking his head. “It’s over.”

“Noah,” she said sternly. “I need to talk to you. We haven’t spoken in months and I feel that as your mother, it is necessary that I-”

“Stop it,” Puck said firmly. “Mom, I am going to be eighteen in another month and I have the perfect family. You already counted me out so you need to just take it as a loss. I have no desire to talk to you. All of my energy right now has to be focused on making a family for Hannah with her father.”

“Noah.”

Finn stepped in front of Puck. He knew that no way did Puck need his protection. He never had and he absolutely never would, but at the same time he was super protective of both Puck and their daughter. This was the woman who had called their daughter an abomination. “There’s nothing that you can say to him that would take away what you called our daughter,” Finn said, glaring at the woman. He had always been intimidated by Puck’s mom when they were growing up but now she absolutely didn’t scare him. “You called Hannah all these horrible things. That’s poison to our family, our daughter. You need to leave.”

The woman looked right over Finn and kept talking to Puck. “You know that it’s against our religious beliefs, Noah. You’re the one who strayed away from Judaism and…”

“I never strayed from my religion,” Puck said. “I believe in God. I believe what I’ve learned in temple. I also believe in myself and supporting myself, believing in myself.”

"What are you doing here?" Finn and Puck both turned around to see Finn's mom standing behind them with her hands on her hips. She looked ready to kill. Finn wasn’t sure that he’d ever seen her so angry. She looked at Puck’s mom and then approached her. “After what you did to your son, you have no business being here, you understand that? You have no right near either of these boys or their daughter.”

“I should have known you’d be okay with this, Carole,” the woman said slowly. “I don’t know what to think about all of this.”

“I’ve gone through this bullshit twice,” Carole snapped. “Do you think maybe I’m familiar with the conflict? These boys need their parents though and you already failed once. Do us all a favor and leave us alone. You’ve never done enough for either of your children. You’ve spent years wallowing in the fact that your husband left you. Well, guess what? Mine died. I survived and moved on.”

Finn had never seen his mom so angry. She was almost hysterical. He stood behind her and grabbed Puck by the hand. “His sister misses him,” Puck’s mom finally relented, her gaze never pulling away from Finn’s enraged mother.

“I’ll go see Sarah,” Puck mumbled. “Later. Right now you need to go.”

She left without a problem at that. Puck looked ready to cry. “Thank you Mom,” Finn said, quickly hurrying Puck inside. She gave him an understanding look and smiled awkwardly. He swore that as he and Puck were walking inside of the house that he heard her say, “I’d wanted to do that for years.” He kept his hand on Puck’s shoulder, taking him all the way up to his bedroom.

When they got in the room, Puck lay down on the bed and Finn closed the door. “I can’t believe she’d come back now,” Puck mumbled under his breath. “I mean, I’ve been hoping that she’d come to her senses, at least so I could see Sarah, for months now. Why is she coming around now that I’m on the verge of giving birth to Hannah? I just can’t…I don’t want her to ever come around.”

“She won’t man,” Finn said, sitting down on the bed next to him. He leaned over and put a flat hand on Puck’s stomach. “Just relax, okay? Stress isn’t good for either of you, at all. She’s not going to come around anymore.”

Puck closed his eyes and didn’t say anything for awhile. Finn couldn’t believe that he actually had the power to make his best friend and boyfriend calm down. He would have never imagined anyone exhibiting that kind of control over Puck. After Puck had calmed down, he opened his eyes again and nodded. “I’m going to go see Sarah after she’s born though,” he told Finn. “I really miss my little sister. All those times that I said she drove me crazy, well, I really miss her.”

“Trust me, I know how you feel,” Finn said, moving his hand down to grab Puck’s hand.

“We’ve got to get out of Lima as soon as we can,” Puck said. “I know that having the baby has totally messed with our life plans, but we can still do it. I really believe in us.”

“I believe in us too.”

Finn was seized with the urge to kiss Puck. He was still a little hesitant about their relationship, having never done anything like it before, but in private it was easy. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the other boys, pressing a hand to the side of his head. Puck’s eyes went wide like he was surprised but at the same time he was smiling. When they pulled away, Puck grinned. “Damn Hudson, you’re good at that.”

Finn pressed up close and kissed him again, running a hand down his side. Puck groaned and smirked. “I swear if I wasn’t sixteen thousand pounds heavier than normal I would want you so bad,” he said.

“That’s sort of how we got in this mess,” Finn mumbled.

Puck sobered up at that. “True,” he said. “Still, I promise after she’s born there will be a second time – with protection. Lots of protection.”

“Oh definitely,” Finn said smirking.

“I love you man.”

“You too, so much.”


	13. Chapter 13

The baby's arrival was drawing near and Finn felt like he and Puck were always making plans. They were planning for work and money, planning for school, planning for doctor’s bills and the million things that came with it. Some of the plans were a lot easier to make though. Puck lit up when Finn spoke about godparents. He seemed really happy to discuss that one, because it was something good for the baby they could do without issues.

"We're going to make Tina the godmother right?" Finn asked, gently rubbing Puck's stomach. Ever since they had found out the often ignored glee girl was a child of the same gene bringing Hannah closer and closer to life, the boys had grown an attachment to her. She was becoming involved and it had only been a couple of weeks since they found out about her. She was coming over all the time and donating things and doing whatever she could.

Puck nodded quickly. "Definitely," he said. "I know the whole godmother thing is kind of outdated and more of a religious thing but Hannah needs Kurt and Tina to be her godparents. They’ve both been so awesome to us and taught us a lot.” Finn had never seen Puck so appreciative of the people in his life. Despite the fact that there was so much reason to hurt and suffer over the pregnancy, it had done a lot of good for Puck’s character.

"Perfect," Finn said. He leaned back and looked over at Puck. "We're doing pretty good man," he said, squeezing his hand a little bit. Puck squeezed back and they looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. Everything seemed like it was going to be alright, even though there were so many things up in the air. It was comforting.

"Yeah," Puck said. "Speaking of which, I gotta go get to work. You'll drive me right?"

Finn shook his head. "Kurt's gonna drive the both of us today. Let me go get him." Finn didn't trust himself to drive Puck and the baby, just yet. He knew that he wasn't very good and Kurt was one of the safest drivers he knew. He walked upstairs and found his stepbrother in his room, lying on his bed.

“Hey,” Kurt said, looking up at Finn. “Am I going to drive today?”

Finn nodded. “Can you?” he asked. “I know it’s silly, but I just want Puck and Hannah in the car with someone who’s really safe.”

Kurt smiled at that. It was funny. Despite Kurt’s outburst when the news of the pregnancy first leaked, the whole thing had brought Finn closer to his stepbrother as well. “I’d love to,” he said, getting up and straightening out his clothes before putting on a coat. “How’s Puck doing?”

“He’s okay,” Finn said. “He’s getting really close now.”

“Man,” Kurt said, shaking his head.

They went downstairs and found Puck. “Hey, thanks for driving us Kurt,” Puck said softly, getting up. “I’m kind of determined not to stop working until Hannah absolutely makes me. I really hate people giving me strange looks though. It’s totally annoying. I can’t wait until I can come in minus the gigantic stomach.”

“It must be absolutely irritating,” Kurt agreed, getting into the car. Finn let Puck into the back and then slid in next to him. He put a hand on his shoulder and settled in, putting on both of their seatbelts. He knew that while Puck hated being babied, he also enjoyed being taken care of right now. It was not something Finn would blame him for in a million years, all that he was doing for their daughter. “It’ll be no time before she’s born you know.”

“We know,” Finn said softly.

The drive over was quick. As they drove to the store where Puck was working part-time, Puck started talking again. “I really, really am going to miss you when you go off to college,” he told Kurt, giving him a smile.

“I’ll miss you too, Noah. I never imagined that would be true.”

“Me neither, dude, me neither.”

They pulled up to the store. Finn noticed the signs almost immediately but it took him a few more seconds to realize what they said. Several protestors, kind of like the vegetarian ones Rachel had introduced him to once, were holding signs but instead of preaching about freeing the innocent animals, they screamed far more sinister notes. Finn’s blood absolutely ran cold as he read them.

Fag Enablers Burn in Hell!!

CHILDBIRTH = for women only.

“Fuck,” Kurt swore under his breath, making Finn jump and stop staring. Kurt very rarely used language like that. Finn knew that his brother was seething on the inside from just the intensity he caught in his eyes.

“What do we do?” Puck asked coldly.

That was, of course, when the protestors spotted the targets of their protest. One man, who looked like the walking stereotype of a backwoods hillbilly, turned around, gestured at them and said something to the man next to him. They started shouting. Finn couldn’t even hear the words that they were shouting. “Guys, head down the street to that back alley. Puck, tell Kurt where it is. You know which one, the one that we used to hang out in last year.”

Puck nodded. “Gotcha,” he mumbled, looking at the goings on in a completely haunted manner. “Finn, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he said, getting out of the car.

“Fags!”

Finn walked toward the man who shouted that hateful word, anger steadily growing. He had never realized when he accidentally used that term with Kurt, just how hurtful it could be. He never realized just how much it could hurt to be criticized for who you happened to fall in love with. “Do you guys have some kind of mental problem?” he asked. He hoped he was channeling his inner Kurt with the sharpness of his voice. He wasn’t smart or clever but he wasn’t going to let this go unnoticed. When they didn’t respond, he stepped closer. He had a good five inches on the leader of the pack. “Seriously, Puck’s just trying to go to work.”

“Anyone who enables a faggot to disrupt God’s natural order should be punished,” the man said harshly. He waved his hand like he could just banish Finn away. “This establishment is enabling a sin to happen.”

“Newsflash,” Finn said, getting just as close. “That sin, if you want to call it that, already happened so leave us the hell alone.”

“Shit, Gary, he’s the one who did it with Puckerman’s kid.”

“I know that, idiot.”

“I love him,” Finn said, knowing very well that assholes like this didn’t care. He looked at the others – there were only about four or five of them, but that didn’t make them less hurtful, and positively yelled out the words. “I love him! I love him so goddamned much; none of you could have an idea about it.”

He was positively crazed. He wasn’t sure who threw the first punch, but next thing he knew the man’s fist landed against his nose, hard. Finn staggered and punched him back.


	14. Anywhere

Finn tackled the much larger man to the ground, throwing punches and yelling. He just couldn’t take it anymore. He was under more stress than he had ever been in his life and people had the audacity to judge people for how they lived. He only pulled back when he heard the commotion of people coming out of Puck’s place of work. He backed off and then looked the man straight in the eye. He saw so much hate there that he had no idea how to deal with it.

“I’m going to live my life with my family,” he said. “What do you have except a bunch of needless hate?”

He walked away and then started running when he realized police were probably coming by that time. He couldn’t get into any legal trouble. While not at risk like Puck, he still couldn’t do anything that would hurt his life while he and his family were establishing their lives. He couldn’t hurt his daughter, even unintentionally.

He ran until he found the alleyway he and Puck used to hang out as kids. Kurt’s car was parked at the other side of the alley and Puck immediately came rushing out. “Jesus fuck, where were you Finn?” he asked. “What did you even think you were going to do?” He put his hand on Finn’s face and didn’t even hide the fact that he was fussing over him. “I’m serious. You didn’t even give me a chance to move. Shit, Hudson your nose is bleeding. What did you do?”

“L-lost it for a second there,” he confessed. He didn’t have that great impulse control, especially when the people he loved were involved. “Are you and Kurt okay?”

Kurt was sitting in the driver’s seat still, looking irritable. He turned his head and glared at the both of them. “Get in the car Finn,” he said loudly. Finn got in, slowly ushered by Puck. “What the hell did you think that you were doing Finn? You scared us half to death. I thought you were going to go get some help from Puck’s boss not get into a fight. God, how can you be so silly. If I threw a punch every time…”

“It was completely stupid,” he said, laying his head back against the car’s seat. Puck put an arm around him. “I just lost it, when I thought about the baby and Puck and how we can’t even go to work without being judged for who we are and what we’ve done. It’s absolutely stupid the way that people make everything their business.”

“I know baby,” Puck mumbled, using a term of endearment that was so not him. It made Finn smile just slightly, despite the fact that he was raging. He comforted Finn in a fantastic way and he was really relaxing. “I think that I need to go home and call Mr. Dawson. I’m sure that he’s seen the scene outside, which I’m guessing included my boyfriend getting his ass kicked.”

“Hey, I did some ass kicking too,” Finn said but he was still pretty quiet.

They got home and called Puck’s boss. The man had apparently called to forewarn them but had missed them. It seemed to be okay. Finn sat on the couch and looked over at Puck. “We need some kind of help,” he said, looking to the other young man. “We really do.”

“I wanna talk to Tina’s dad.”

With a quick text to Tina, Kurt took Puck and Finn on another trip, dropping them off at Tina’s house which was not far from their household. Tina answered the door. “Hi guys,” she said softly. “I figured that you’d want to talk to Dad soon. He’s very eager to meet both of you.”

Moments later, the man walked in the room. He looked a lot like Tina, with kind eyes and a gentle smile. “Hi guys,” he said, glancing at Puck’s stomach and then back at them. “I’m Daniel. Tina has told me a lot about you guys. Please sit down.”

Finn nodded, slowly. He took Puck by the hand and sat down with him on the sofa across from Tina’s father.

Tina smiled. “I’ll leave you guys alone,” she said, walking off.

“I don’t really think there’s any easy way to start this conversation, is there?” he asked, looking from one boy to the other. Finn shook his head. “I am really glad that Tina told you about how she was born. I know that it’s been really hard for her to accept, the way that she was harassed back before we got here. I just really think you guys are brave. I know exactly what it’s like, getting looks and everything.” He eyed Puck meaningfully.

Puck sighed. “We got a little more than looks today,” he admitted. Finn was surprised that he was being so open. “There were people at my work today, picketing and Finn got into a fight with one of them...”

“I know how you feel,” Daniel said, meeting Finn’s eyes and nodding, before looking back to Puck. “Tina told you that my best friend was the one to help me get pregnant, right? Well, he was really defensive of me when people started being cruel. Also, after Tina was born he ended up beating this guy to a pulp because he was just so tired of people hurting that precious little girl over how she was born. It happens and I can’t say that it won’t happen again when your…you’re having a girl right?”

Puck nodded quickly. “Hannah.”

“When Hannah is born it might happen again,” he admitted, “but you guys will be strong. The key is not listening to a thing that anyone tells you and focusing on the good thing that you guys have with your family.”

Finn nodded.

Puck mumbled out the next question in an incredibly strained tone. “How was the…birth?” he asked wearily. It was a lot less of a stressful question for Finn but when he watched Puck’s face, he realized that he hadn’t even anticipated the feeling of the birth itself. Pregnancies for males were difficult and labors were even more difficult. For Puck this wasn’t just an opportunity to talk to someone who had been discriminated against, it was an opportunity to talk to a man who had been there too.

“It is really natural to be nervous,” Daniel said, cracking a small smile. “I was so terrified I started crying. Sixteen years ago and I still remember breaking down in front of my wife and my best friend. It honestly wasn’t that bad. It’s similar to the standard c-section a woman goes through. You’re a bit drugged up and loopy for awhile. It was over fast, for me at least and Tina was born very healthy.”

Puck nodded a little bit. “I’m really scared,” he said, admitting something he didn’t even admit to Finn out loud.

“I know it’ll go well,” the man comforted. “You’re young and healthy.”

“I’ve been taking really good care of myself,” Puck said confidently.

“I can tell. You two are going to make it through the pregnancy just fine. My best advice, as someone who has been there is that you have to be strong. I went through a lot of strain, having Tina, and brought my whole family through a lot of strain but I wouldn’t change it for the world. You both know my daughter, what kind of girl she is. Once you meet Hannah, none of you would change your struggles for the world. I can tell that Hannah will have as much love as my daughter did.”

“Thank you,” Finn said, touched by that.

“And maybe more. My family is always around if you need us.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this.

When Puck said that he thought he was going into labor, Finn didn't believe him. Never mind the fact that Puck was at full term and the fact that the doctor said it, "could be any day now," Finn still didn't believe it. It couldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening, because he wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready for the baby to come yet. Oh God, he wasn't ready for it at all. He couldn't be a father.

"Please say you're kidding," Finn said, feeling frantic. His heart was pounding in his chest so loud that he was sure his boyfriend could hear it too. He shook his head, as if he were trying to dismiss the idea that this could really be it. It couldn’t. There was no way that the baby could be coming now.

Puck put a hand to his stomach and in an eerie calm way shook his head. He looked at Finn and his eyes were serious, expressionless. "This is the real deal Finn. Or at least I think it is. It hurts really badly, man."

He was so creepy calm that Finn felt like vomiting. "I'm going to call Burt and Mom and then we'll go take the car to the hospital." He picked up the phone and dialed Burt. His stepfather was working on a car but the guys working there knew to get him for this reason. He knew that Burt would speed over to the hospital the moment that he found out she was coming. He then called his mom who swore to meet him.

"Let's go," he said putting a hand on Puck's back and guiding him along. He prayed to God that he could get them there successfully. His hands were shaking really hard. Puck kept his calm demeanor all through the trip. He looked rather even at least and didn't speak at all. He just sat there breathing heavily. When Finn screeched into a parking spot, Puck got out with the same focused determination.

Finn felt as though he would throw up and nearly gagged when they got to the hospital. The hospital was prepared for Puck, because male births were so rare. They took him into a room quickly and Finn helped his boyfriend into the gown. “I’m terrified Finn,” Puck said, which caught him off guard considering the way that Puck had been behaving since he told Finn she was coming. “What if I can’t do this?”

He paused and suddenly he felt like his fears were pushed aside for a moment. “There is no doubt at all that you can do this,” he said, putting his hands on the side of Puck’s face and his shoulder. “Do you have any idea how tough you are man? You’re having a baby and are still the most badass guy I’ve ever met. You’re going to get through this with no problem.”

“You think so?” Puck asked and he sounded so damned small.

“I know so.”

Puck was put into a room, gratefully lying down. Finn could tell that he was in pain. The doctor’s started talking about prepping the surgery and going and Finn started praying that his parents would get there. He was pushed aside while they prepared Puck, but assured that he’d be able to be at his side when the baby was born. There was no doubt that she was coming that day.   
Luckily, Finn’s mother arrived shortly after he was pushed out of the way. “Finn!” she shouted, coming up to her son’s side and pulling him into a tight hug. Finn could tell that she was just as scared as she was and for once, his mother’s fear was a little bit comforting. “I drove as fast as I could. Is anyone else here yet?”

Finn shook his head. “Puck and I were alone when he said it was coming,” Finn mumbled, in the same daze. “Mom…”

She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and held tightly. “Finn Hudson, get yourself put back together,” she said firmly, but gently. “Breathe in and out for me and relax. It’s going to be fine. You and Noah did this much and now you’re going to bring that daughter of yours into the world.”

He felt like crying. He tried to hold it back but the tears started brimming up in his eyes anyway. “I don’t know if I can do this Mom,” he said.

“You can do it, Finn,” she said seriously. “I know that you can.”

She held her son as tightly as she could. Finn held back, staying there until a young woman in blue scrubs told him that he could go back to Puck. She thrust a pair of protective scrubs against his chest and looked at him very matter-of-factly. “We’re going to begin very shortly,” she said softly.

When he returned to Puck, his boyfriend seemed a little pale. He leaned his head back and looked up into Finn’s eyes. “Hey,” he said in an airy, sleepy tone of voice. “It’s happening now, isn’t it?”

Finn nodded. “Yep,” he said. “Here we go.”

The procedure was very quick and efficient. Puck was significantly drugged so that he couldn’t feel what was being done to him. Finn got a glance of the surgical sight and nearly threw up, so he spent the entire procedure as close as he could to Puck’s face, comforting his boyfriend. Finn was entirely focused on Puck during the entire operation. That was why it was so jarring when he heard the first cries of a baby.

He jerked back.

Puck turned his head to the side, definitely a little affected by the drugs and by how long he’d been lying there, unaware of what was going on with his lower body. “Is she okay?” he asked.

Finn moved away, looking at the blood and mess and at last, one of the doctors filled him in on what was going on. “Mr. Hudson, Mr. Puckerman, we definitely have a very healthy little girl on our hands. Seven pounds nine ounces and very, very loud.”

Everything was a blur for Finn. People in blue and white rushed around, things were cut and Puck was sewn back up. Through the whole thing, Puck lay there listlessly, his head rolling to the side. “I want to see my girl,” he mumbled under his breath. “I want to see our daughter so bad Finn, I want to see my little girl…our little girl…”

When Puck finally got his wish and he was propped up, the baby girl handed to him, it was amazing. Finn took one look at Hannah and fell in love. She was tiny, red and screaming but she was beautiful. He stared at her, transfixed. He very gently reached out to touch the small tuft of dark hair on the top of her head.

"She's already got the Mohawk going," he teased gently, tearing himself away only to look at the wonderful man who gave her life. Puck was crying, the tears falling down his cheeks without restraint. He held her close to his chest and looked up at Finn with an unfathomable fierceness. He would die a million times for his girl and Finn felt the same. He looked like he was going to be sick but at the same time like he was full of wonder.

"She's perfect," Puck managed, but that was all he could say.

Finn couldn't say a thing either but at this point he realized why so many singers wrote songs about their babies. He was speechless but wanted to compose something of brilliance to describe the child in Puck's arms. She was an angel, she was perfect and she had his heart in her hand.


	16. Chapter 16

She also had his finger, delicate baby fingers curled around his big digit. She held on tightly. When Finn met her eyes, he melted into a gigantic puddle of goo. “Hi Hannah,” he whispered, staring. He was entirely awestruck. He barely noticed that at the same time, Puck was talking to the baby. He mumbled in a low voice and stroked her tiny, tender cheek. Puck was a man sunk but he had seemed to pull himself together far more than Finn had.

“That mess up there is your daddy,” Puck told her in a low, delicate voice. “He’s a little bit stunned right now. He’ll be back to normal soon.”

Finn stared, marveled and kissed the baby. In what seemed like minutes but was really much longer, she was taken to the infant wing and Puck was given some pain medicine to sleep. He kissed Puck and left him alone to sleep for awhile. He knew that his boyfriend needed it. Finn was then able to slow his mind and let his family see her.

"Oh my God, Finn, she looks just like you," his mom managed. Her hands shook as they touched the glass. He had never seen her like that. She was usually so calm and in control. She was the woman who singlehandedly raised him, after all.

"I think she looks like Puck," he said softly.

"That there is one perfect girl," Burt said, just as touched as his mom.

“You’re right Dad,” Kurt marveled, his voice low.

"She is so perfect," he said, wiping his eyes. He was crying, again. His eyes hurt from all the tears that he had been shedding recently but at least they were happy tears now. "She is just the most perfect thing I have seen in my life. I don't even know what to do now, but that's okay. I think that now that she's here and I can see her, I have faith it will all be okay."

Kurt put his hand on Finn's shoulder and rubbed lightly. He leaned back into the comfort of his brother's touch. "I made that, Kurt," he whispered. "I brought that beautiful little girl into this world. Puck and I are her parents."

Kurt chuckled. "Yes, Finn, you did," he said. "She is perfect."

Finn hugged his stepbrother as tightly as he possibly could. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and held him there. He was still terrified for his daughter and the way that their life could end up being but there was such a reassurance to her being real. There was such a safe, comfortable feeling knowing that she had made it that far. “I’m going to go see if Puck’s awake yet,” he said.

His mom kissed him on the cheek. “I’m proud Finn, no matter what,” she said.

When he returned, Puck was still asleep. He curled up to his side, again thinking about the way that people’s families inspired them to so much. He laid up against his boyfriend’s shoulder, yawning and closing his eyes. He couldn’t relax though. He was too alive with everything.  
Two days later, Puck and Hannah were still in the hospital. Male pregnancies being more complicated, the doctor’s assured him they’d be home before the week’s end. He was home alone, sitting amongst a mass of pink. Even though his high school friends hadn’t been exactly supportive, Tina’s family had donated a ton of clothing and a few of the people he still cared about bought them a few necessities.

He was writing. He wasn’t exactly songwriting, like he thought he’d would. He was just writing what came to his mind and that happened to be a scrawled letter to the baby he loved so damned much it hurt.

 

 

Dear Hannah,

I know that your daddies are young but I promise you that we love you and are going to do everything in our power to give you a good life. We love each other very much and we love you even more. That's a pretty good start for a family, right? People might look at us funny, because we’re two daddies instead of a daddy and a mommy and we’re really young but love is the most important thing, I think.

We don't have much money but we work hard and you have a lot of support and love. Your grandma and grandpa are waiting like crazy for you to come home right now. Your uncle? Well, he’s buying about a million way-too-expensive and way-too-strange clothes for you.

You’re my girl and I love you. Now I’m waiting for you and daddy to get yourselves home.

Love daddy.


End file.
